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Democrats tap Obama donor network for OFA, Senate races

'I’m passionate about both groups,' Julianna Smoot said in an interview. | AP Photo

With several vulnerable Democrats facing re-election in 2014, Smoot says she’s excited to go back to working on the Senate level, where she got her start. Senate Majority PAC raised about $40 million during the 2012 election.

“I’m excited to join the board and get back to my roots,” she said. “I love the Senate.”

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Smoot cited her desire to help fellow North Carolinian Sen. Kay Hagan, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) – all three are facing an uphill battle in historically red states.

And she also wants to exceed the group’s 2012 haul.

“The super PAC had a really wonderful run in 2012. We’re still working on coming up with a fundraising target,” she said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to surpass what we raised in 2012.”

Smoot previously fundraised for several Democratic senators including Sens. Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.) and Dick Durbin (Ill.) and former Sens. Chris Dodd, John Edwards and Tom Daschle before serving as finance director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

At Senate Majority PAC, Smoot will be reunited with Susan McCue, Reid’s former chief of staff, the co-chair of Senate Majority PAC. The two previously worked together during the 2006 election cycle when Smoot was at the DSCC and the Democrats took back the majority.

After a shaky start in the 2012 election, Democratic outside groups are bolstering their operations, making key hires and starting early as donors become more willing to write large checks.

Smoot said she’s been meeting with donors who gave to Senate Majority PAC during the last election cycle and showing them the success stories from 2012 to get them to start thinking early about contributing for the upcoming cycle.

“We’re starting to get them to think early what would happen if we lost even just one seat,” she said.

Jon Carson, executive director of OFA, said Smoot’s network, which goes much beyond donors will be invaluable to the new group. Smoot was White House social secretary during Obama’s first term and took on a larger role as deputy campaign manager in the 2012 election.

“You really need to think of Julianna as much more than a fundraiser,” Carson said, describing Smoot as “a brilliant political mind.”

Through Smoot’s connections in the tech sector, for example, OFA will be able to incorporate the views of different businesses and nonprofits on the immigration debate, Carson said. She has also helped the group recruit top staffers and volunteer trainers.

As Smoot enters the world of outside money, her opponents recognize her as a potential threat and one of the best Democratic fundraisers.

“Smoot has a great track record and I’m confident will be formidable at selling President Obama with her new fundraising entities,” said Charlie Spies, co-founder of the pro-Mitt Romney super PAC Restore Our Future. Spies now serves as senior adviser to Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC dedicated to protecting the Republican majority in the House.

The North Carolina native got her start in fundraising while working at the development office of her alma mater, Smith College. When she moved to Washington, D.C. after graduation, she decided to give political fundraising a shot.

“I started out making phone calls, stuffing invitations late at night, which is so strange to think about now,” she said, given that the Obama campaign became notorious for its constant emailed fundraising pitches. “But it’s been a fun career. It’s like putting a puzzle together.”